A New Year

I'd like to wish everyone a joyful, happy, fulfilling, satisfying and prosperous 2012. Thank you all for accompanying me in 2011 and/or 2012 even if only briefly. And as Mr. Roger's says, "thank you for being you" and enriching my life!

Now, 2011 was an interesting year. It started out in the US visiting my brother and his family in Montana. My mother was with us too. We love their style of hospitality and love being with them. Dante, after cruising for many months decided, "I can walk!". At this point his vocabulary consisted of Auto, Palla/Ball and "ba-bau", which meant cat (go figure!). He was also good at making animal sounds and would perform on command.

I'm not much of a resolution person, but I had decided with Dante well over a year old I could start doing more narrating work for StarShipSofa again. Since I'd been "on leave" Tony hadn't run much, if any poetry and I thought that was a shame. I had the brilliant idea of creating my own poetry segment for the show. I pitched it to Tony and he loved the idea. The result is Poetry Planet, a ca. half hour show featuring Speculative and Fantasy poetry. I'd hope to do it monthly but that's proved too much so I submit it to Tony when it's done, about every 6-8 weeks.

I also joined the small vocal ensemble Raggio di Sol, which is not a professional venture for me, but which has gotten me singing regularly and I do have the opportunity to sing solos and we do quite a bit of one on a part choral singing as well.

I had lessons with Carol Baggott-Fort for the first time since I was just a few months pregnant. It was also my first trip away overnight. I spent 2 nights and 3 days in Iserlohn, Germany singing and listening to Carol teach. I stayed in a hotel and it was all just like heaven! It was great to have some adult conversations about something besides children. And on music and singing too!

We spent Easter in Italy and Dante had his first chocolate Easter egg!

This was a Hildegard year for me, meaning I sang lots of music by Hildegard von Bingen. My good friend and colleague Allegra Silbiger asked me to fill in for one of the singers in her Ensemble 'Diadema' for a trip to Poland doing 2 concerts in July. Plus the famous concert I showed up a year early for finally took place in Dillenburg in October. It was great to reconnect with the church musician there and with the women in the schola. The last time we did that program was in 2006, I believe. Hopefully, I'll be asked back to sing something else before too long. Joachim Dreher always plans so far ahead, though! :-)

We spent 2+ weeks in Italy, with family and on the beach, in August. Dante had the best time. And I managed NOT to get a sunburn for the first time in my life!

Dante started day care after we got home from Italy and got used to it very quickly. He goes 4 days a week for 4 hours in the afternoon. I usually teach while he's there. It's working out very well.

Raggio di Sol put on a wonderful Benefit concert in Sept. we sang lots of great stuff, much of it with a small baroque orchestra, including some solo work for me. There are YouTube videos, for which I'll post links one of these days.

Dante turned 2 on Oct. 3rd. And since then he's lived up to the cliche. It wasn't all his fault though, because he's been sick a lot since the weather got cold. But he's of the opinion he doesn't need to sleep anymore. I'm not, but there is no convincing a 2 year old of anything. His language acquisition is quite amazing. He's doing well in all 3 languages and doesn't mix them at all, which is a bit unusual. I hardly ever hear him speak German, but his teachers say he's doing great.

Magnus is enjoying his work (again) despite the breakdown of support for nuclear energy in Germany. His work is mostly in England at the moment anyway. It was a really tough period for all of us but especially for him having to deal with the ramifications of the tsunami and the accident in Japan this year. Things were rather uncertain for a while but now that the dust has cleared a bit we are mostly back to business as usual.

In November I spent 4 days in Hamburg taking lessons and trying not to sneeze on my fellow singers. At least Carol was unconcerned!

Raggio did a wonderful Christmas concert in which I got to sing some music of a more soloistic nature.

We closed out the year with Christmas in Italy. My sister in law had her first baby on Dec. 21, the day we arrived and we are enjoying little Freya!

Like I said I'm not one for resolutions but I have thought that I might try to do a few things this year. Those include reading more actual books, calling my mother more often, even if Dante is asleep or not around; and perhaps expanding my recording activities to include actual money-making ventures.

You can read more detailed accounts and links and stuff in this year's blog posts!

That's it from me!

Catching you up

I've been too busy, or rather, I've been held captive by a little boy a lot over the past 3 - 4 weeks and haven't been able to blog about events! So, here's it all in brief:

The group I've been singing with, Raggio di Sol, performed at the Hannover Choir Festival, which took place in the Gallery Hall at the Herrenhäuser Gardens here in Hannover. We did 3 Monteverdi madrigals, Verleih uns Frieden by H. Schütz, and Riu, riu, chiu. We were mentioned in the general review of the festival as one of the highlights. Yay!

I was able to attend Carol's (Baggott-Forte) Masterclasses in Hamburg because someone cancelled with short-ish notice. Of course, the day I left, I woke up with the same throat ick that Dante had had for a week or so. It was ok for the first 3 lessons but the 4th was pretty useless. It was great to see Carol and also the other participants, most of whom I know from previous Masterclasses around Europe. We are a dedicated bunch.

Sang a wedding, near Hannover, filling in for my friend Andrea Doig, a dedicated wedding singer, who got sick. Kind of a new experience for me singing to Karaoke in a church wedding, but that's what they'd hired Andrea to do and so I did my best, singing Caro mio ben, Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah and Widmung by Schumann (instead of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, which is impossible to find in a higher key as karaoke). This was also my first venture driving a car from Stadtmobil, the local CarSharing company. A bit nerve-wracking, but all went well enough. 

I recorded a Flash Fiction story for Tony Smith of StarShipSofa, very last-minute, rush-rush, hush-hush for a Sekrit Projekt he's working on. It's like to run in the feed of StarShipSofa as a bit of teasing. I hope I notice when it's up. For such a spontaneous thing, I'm quite proud of it. I recorded and edited it in less than an hour, the same day Tony asked! Yay me! I hope it's not awful! ;-)

Still working on the next Poetry Planet on the theme of Time Travel. I'm pretty sure I won't manage to finish before Christmas, so I apologize to all the poets whose poetry will be included. It will come out eventually!

Heading off to Italy for almost 3 weeks, where I'm going to become an Aunt again! Magnus' sister is due to have her first child on Dec. 19 and I'm looking forward to cuddling a tiny baby again.

So I wish all of you a beautiful holiday season, whichever holiday you celebrate. Enjoy your families, listen to good music and count your blessings - I'm blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life and to be able to pursue and do the things I love. Thank you for being a part of that!

See you in the New Year!

Poetry Planet No. 4 "Coming Home" live on StarShipSofa

Finally, after many trials and tribulations, the "Coming Home" edition of Poetry Planet has gone live on StarShipSofa Episode No. 208

This is a biggun! With 11 poems and some news it comes in at about 35 minutes of aural delight! You'll hear poetry by Ann K. Schwader, Terrie Leigh Relf, Melissa Frederick, Lyn C. A. Gardner, Rachel Swirsky, David Kopaska-Merkel, Joanne Merriam, Dennis M. Lane, Rich Magahiz, Mari Ness, Geoffrey A. Landis, Mikal Trimm and Amal El-Mohtar. Please follow the links below to visit a poet's blog or website, read or buy the poem that ran in the show or buy their most recent collection! They'll appreciate your support!

Ann K. Schwader - Yaddith Times LiveJournal , Twisted in Dream
Terrie Leigh Relf - Sam's Dot Publishing
Melissa Frederick - Chapbook "She"
Lyn C. A. Gardner - Dreaming of Days in Astophel
Rachel Swirsky - Through the Drowsy Dark
David Kopaska Merkel - Dreams and Nightmares Magazine , The Tin Men (with Kendall Evans)
Joanne Merriam - Upper Rubber Boot Books , Seven By Twenty
Dennis M. Lane - Film Talk
Rich Magahiz - There and Back Again
Mari Ness - At Tor.com
Geoffrey A. Landis - Sultan of the Clouds (Story on StarShipSofa No. 201)
Mikal Trimm
Amal El-Mohtar

Mentioned in the News section of the short were:

SFPA Annual Online Halloween Poetry Reading
Bruce Boston, Surrealities
Maria Alexander, At Louche Ends
Necronomicon, Horror Convention, St. Petersburg, FL Oct. 21 - 23, 2011
Regular poetry reading events in Toronto, Canada




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Carol Baggott-Forte teaching in Germany again

My teacher, Carol Baggott-Forte is returning to Germany and France to do 7 weeks of master classes. Yippee!!

Here are the details:

The Liberated Voice
Master Class Season 2011-2012
with
Carol Baggott-Forte


cours individuels de technique vocale  / Formation de Formateurs (Lyon)
individual singing technique lessons  / Teacher's Training (Lyon)
Einzelunterricht in Gesangstechnik / Lehrerausbildung (Lyon)

• Week 1, Hamburg: 8 - 12 November 2011

• Week 2, Hamburg: 15 - 19 November 2011

Place: Studio Almut Stäglich
Address: Stresemannstr. 140a/Courtyard, 22765 Hamburg

• Week 3, Iserlohn: 29 November - 03 December 2011

Place: Studio VokalForum
Address: Sporenstr. 38, 58644 Iserlohn

•   Week 4, Bremen: 17 - 21 January 2012

Place: Sophie Drinker Institut http://www.sophie-drinker-institut.de
Address: Außer der Schleifmühle 28, 28203 Bremen 

•   Week 5, Wiesbaden: 24 - 28 January 2012

Place: Wiesbadener Musikakademie
 Address: Schillerplatz 1 – 2, 65185 Wiesbaden

•   Week 6, Lyon: 8 - 12 February 2012

•   Week 7, Lyon: 15 - 19 February 2012

Place: Centre de la Voix Rhône-Alpes
Address: Les Passerelles – Parc d’activités de Gorge du Loup, 24 Av Joannès Masset, 69009 Lyon.

Infos et Inscriptions / Details and Application / Auskunft und Anmeldung

The Liberated Voice


I'm hoping to go to Bremen at the very least and hopefully a few days of Hamburg as well.

Alles was ihr tut - Benefit Concert

Saturday, 10 September 2011 marked the culmination of many hours of rehearsal and preparation, in the form of the benefit concert for Chile post Earthquake 2010. The director of Raggio-di-Sol, the vocal ensemble I've been singing with lately, comes from a German-Chilean family, so this was close to his heart. He went all out and managed to get extra singers to fill out the choir in tutti places; an excellent mini-orchestra of 2 violins, 2 violas, cello, organ and harpsichord, who all played for the benefit; instrument transportation and tuning at reduced rates or free and no rent on the concert space (a church). The church was pretty full. I'd say there were probably 130 - 140 people there. 12 of them were friends/colleagues/pupils of mine. I'm glad that some of my friends finally got to hear me sing solo! The church (Friedenskirche, Hanover, Germany) was an actually lovely little modern church with a wood interior. The acoustic was a bit weird empty, but warm and clear and lovely with an audience. The program: Alessandro Scarlatti - Quadro in A minor for recorder, strings and basso continuo Michael Praetorius - Kyrie à 6 XXII - Gloria à 4 XVII Thomas Tallis - Salvator Mundi Nos. 1 and 2 Claudio Monteverdi - Nisi Dominus Heinrich Schütz - Verleih uns Frieden Michael Praetorius - Kyrie à 6 XVIII Andreas Hammerschmidt - Wie lieblich sind Deine Wohnungen, Herr Zebaoth J. S. Bach - Arie "Wohlzutun und mitzuteilen" for Baritone from Cantata No. 39 G. Ph. Telemann - Sute in A minor for Alto recorder, strings and basso continuo Dietrich Buxtehude - Kantate "Alles was ihr tut" J. S. Bach - Recit. and Duet (Soprano and Baritone) and Chorale from Cantata No. 79 It was a lovely program with a LOT of wonderful rather unknown stuff. But WAY too long. Over 2 hours. But the audience was indulgent and gamely clapped while Alfredo passed out roses to each and every participant. -------

Poetry Planet No. 3 "Rhysling Award Showcase"

I've done it. I've finally managed to finish another Poetry Planet! I pre-empted the planned theme for this edition because I lost the complete recording and didn't want too much time to pass before I podcast the Rhysling Award winning (and placing) poems.

Poetry you'll hear:

CSE Cooney, Dogstar Men (3rd place, short form)
Robert Frazier, Wreck-diving the Starship (3rd place, long form)

Karen A. Romanko, Binary Creation Myth (2nd place, short form)
Bruce Boston, Dark Rains Here and There (2nd place, long form)

Amal El-Mohtar, Peach-Creamed Honey (winner, short form)
CSE Cooney, The Sea King's Second Bride (winner, long form)

They are all wonderful poems - wonderous, whimsical, erotic, funny, wry, sentimental. Those are some of the words I'd use to describe these poems. Go listen to them. You can find them at StarShipSofa Show No. 202.

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Singing Hildegard in Poland

This is really seriously after the fact, and I apologize, but no one ever accused me of being timely, so there you have it!

My good friend and colleague, Allegra Silbiger (a member of my girl-group Elysium), asked me to fill in for a singer in her ensemble for medieval vocal music, "Diadema", for a pair of concerts near Krakow, Poland. I thought about it for about 2 seconds, said yes, and then wondered how I was going to manage with the Boy.

As it turned out, it was even more difficult to find someone to babysit than originally anticipated because the concerts were in the middle of the school summer vacation in Lower Saxony and all my regular girls were away. However, one had a friend who was still in town and we were able to have her babysit on a teaching day before I left, so that Dante could get to know her a bit.

So, at about noon on Thursday I left home first for Berlin to meet up with the other women in the ensemble and fly onward to Krakow. Magnus was traveling until I don't remember when that day. The train and air travel all went off without a hitch and we arrived at the Tyniec Abbey (full of Benedictine Monks), where we were staying and singing on Sunday, 25 July 2011, at dinner time, albeit a bit late.

We were shown our rooms and advised that the doors to the guest house are locked at 9:30pm and that if we were going to leave the building that we should be sure to return closer to 9:00pm. Silence was to be observed after 10pm. Morning bells would ring at 5:45 and breakfast would be from 7:30 to 8:30. Phew! It was going to be a restful weekend! And I wondered if I would be able to spend even a couple of hours visiting Krakow, "Poland's most beautiful city"? More on that later.

The rooms were small but clean and serviceable. I did, in fact, go to sleep around 10:30 every night and slept until 7:30 (with a brief interruption for the bells) so I did come home pretty rested! Woot! We were fed in the refectory, but women were not allowed to eat with the Monks. They were somewhere else. Unfortunately, 2 of 3 meals consisted of bread (pasty white stuff mostly), cheese, cold cuts, tomatoes and cucumbers. Lunches were hot and quite tasty, but it took me merely a day and a half to realize that I wasn't going to see a fresh fruit for 5 days and so I went into the village and bought some. Which was delicious. Fresh and regional peaches! Mmmmmh!

We rehearsed most of the day on Friday, in the concert hall in the beautifully renovated/remodelled building where the guest house was as well. Considering we had only rehearsed together the one time in Berlin, it went very well. To our credit, the others in the group have sung together numerous times, Allegra and I are like a two-headed, Hildegard-singing monster, and I'd done the Benefit concert in Barbara Thornton's honor a couple of years ago with them and other add-ons as well. I guess it shouldn't have been such a surprise. Nevertheless, I did feel a bit like I didn't know a couple of the pieces well enough, but that soon passed.

The weather sucked. Except for Saturday, which was at least sunny, if not exactly warm. After the concert on Saturday we sat out on the patio of the cafe on the premises (closed by that time) and watched the sun set spectacularly.

The Saturday concert was at the Benedictine Convent about a half hour's drive from Tyniec. The tiny church had a very interesting acoustic, which was a bit hard to suss. The place was filled pretty much and the audience included about 10 children under the age of 8, who were unbelievably well-behaved. I guess all that church-going trains them pretty well. The performance went very well and we were satisfied. We got a standing ovation. A Consul from the German Consulate in Krakow and her family were in attendance and we spoke to them at length. They were pleasantly surprised and taken with the music, which they'd never heard.

Sunday's concert was at Tyniec in this beautiful hall. The acoustic was wonderful for Hildegard and vocal music. It was a pleasure to sing there.

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